Abstract
Management of inorganic fertilizer is very important to obtain maximum crop yield and improved nutrient use efficiency in cereal crops. Fixation of phosphatic fertilizers in alkaline soils due to calcareousness is one of the major hurdles. It induces phosphorus nutritional stress that can decrease the yield of maize and wheat. Selection of a suitable application method and proper stage of crop for phosphorus (P) fertilizer has prime importance in better uptake of P and crop production. Among different application methods, soil and foliar application are widely adopted. In wheat and maize, knee height + tasseling and stem elongation + booting are critical stages towards P deficiency. That is why field trials were conducted to evaluate the supplemental effect of foliar P on maize and wheat yields. For that, 144 mM KH2PO4 was applied as foliar at knee height + tasseling and stem elongation + boot stages in maize and wheat, respectively. Soil application of 0, 20, 40 and 60 kg P ha−1 was done through broadcast and band methods. Results showed that foliar spray of 144 mM KH2PO4 at knee height + tasseling and stem elongation + boot stages in wheat and maize significantly enhanced grains yield and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) where P was applied as banding or broadcast at the time of sowing. A significant decreasing trend in response to increasing soil P levels validated the efficacious role and suitability of foliar P. In conclusion, the use of P as foliar at knee height + tasseling and stem elongation + boot stages is an efficacious way to manage P fertilizer.
Highlights
Phosphorus is an essential element for animals and plants
When averaged across the application methods and years, the plant height of maize increased from cm in control to 216 cm with 60 kg P ha −1 without foliar application of P, whereas when the soil application of P was supplemented with foliar application, the increase in plant height varied from cm in control to 221 cm where a high rate of soil P was applied
The same trend was observed for wheat and the plant height obtained at 20 kg P ha−1 with foliar 144 mM KH2 PO4 solution which was better (96 cm) than the plant height obtained with 40 kg P ha−1 without foliar P when values were averaged across the years and soil application methods (Table 1)
Summary
Phosphorus is an essential element for animals and plants. Its long term management is very important for ending hunger of the world. Many countries of the world have been highly dependent on importing mineral P fertilizers for agriculture [2] It is an important macronutrient for optimum growth, metabolism and development of crops [3]. The high rate of adsorption on clay surfaces usually causes fixation of primary and secondary ortho-phosphate in soil [8]. It become precipitated with Ca+2 and Mg+2 under alkaline pH or with Fe+2 and Al+3 at acidic pH [3]. More than 30–40% of the agricultural lands across the world are deficient in P [9] In such soils, P is regulated through exogenous addition of fertilizers to meet P requirement in high yielding crops [10]. Only 20% of P fertilizer is used by the crops while the remaining 80% is lost via fixation, leaching, etc., resulting in less P use efficiency [11]
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